


two player game

by ameliafuckingshepherd



Series: me taking out my problems on the avengers [4]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Burns, Depression, High School, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Irondad, Mental Health Issues, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Skipping Class, Smoking, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 20:15:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18415058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameliafuckingshepherd/pseuds/ameliafuckingshepherd
Summary: Peter's school finds out he cuts, his world collapses, and the only person he can turn to is Tony Stark.(based off the song "two player game" from be more chill)





	two player game

**Author's Note:**

> obvi this is about me. everything always is. love you guys forever <3

_"peter parker, come down to the office, peter parker to the office for just one moment, please."_

that page that turned his life upside down. the page he assumed was about his attendance or the work he hadn't turned in for his independant study. 

Peter got up and left his history class, followed by whispers of his classmates wondering how Peter Parker, top student, managed to get in trouble. he was inpatient and slightly annoyed. Peter was already behind in history, and they were studying the French revolution, which he knew nothing about. It took him a few minutes to get to the office, crossing the concrete, steel, and glass campus. He pulled open the door to the office and walked in. 

"ah, Peter, there you are," Principal Morita called from his office. "come on in, and shut the door behind you."

though the man was smiling, Peter was nervous. this didn't feel like an intervention for his missing assignments. he sat down in a chair across the principal's desk. "um, hi?" 

"you're not in trouble."

though some part of him was relieved (because for all he knew, someone at the last party he went to snitched on him for the drinking or for the vape pen or for the cigarettes, which he now kept a pack of tucked in his pocket), it only made him more suspicious, because now he couldn't possibly imagine what he was here for. "good, cause i was getting a little worried you guys found my secret stash of coke or something," Peter joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"no, nothing like that," Principal Morita chuckled. "one of your classmates reached out to me because they were...worried about you. they told me they saw cuts on your wrists."

and the world stopped. It stopped the way it stopped when May found out Peter was Spiderman. like his darkest secret, the thing he was sure was safe with him and only him was spilled for everyone to see. "i don't know what you're talking about," Peter said, but he knew he couldn't get out of this, the trembling of his lower lip surely betrayed him.

"then you won't mind showing me your arms?" 

"that's not necessary, sir."

"if you aren't hurting yourself then I don't see why not."

Peter couldn't think of a response. He bit the inside of his lip as hard as he could, dug his nails into his palms, willed the pain to take him away. 

for the first time in his life, it didn't.

"alright. I'm going to set up an appointment with the school counselor and call your Aunt." as soon as Peter started to protest, Principal Morita continued. "just to tell her what's going on.

Peter nodded. He was a million miles away, back on Titan, back in the soul world, back in an endless sea of numbness and agony. he couldn't feel his body, couldn't see his body, could only feel his brain pulled apart by the red and orange fog around him. He needed Tony, needed his mentor to remind him that Thanos was gone, that Peter was here, that everything would be okay. 

Peter left the office. He didn’t go back to class.

He ran. 

Ran out of school. It wasn’t until a few blocks later that he realized he seriously fucked up. Getting detention or missing a few days here and there is one thing, but skipping is completely different. He could be suspended. He had to get to Tony. 

Peter jumped on the first train he could. It carried him farther and farther away from his problems, taking him to Avengers Tower, which had been kept for office and lab space, as well as tours. He fidgeted nervously as reality set in. he left school, ditched his backpack. Maybe Ned would grab it for him. Thankfully, Peter had his phone, wallet, and earbuds on him. The train was mostly empty, but the few people on it gave him concerned looks. Tears streamed down his face as he stared straight ahead. It wasn’t pretty.

Soon enough, he got off, instinctively reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He lit it with his red lighter, always residing in his jeans pockets. If May found out, he’d be dead, but Peter can’t bring himself to care anymore, not when the only things that make him feel better anymore are nicotine and the sight of his own blood. He sucked up the smoke, leaning his head back to exhale it out in a cloud. He’s always had an obsession with fire, lighting bits of paper up and getting yelled at to take it outside. Fun memories (it wasn’t like May wasn’t good aunt/mom, she just didn’t want her house to burn down).

Finally, Peter had calmed down to the point that he felt he could go to the tower. Sure, his eyes were still red and his voice was still raw, but his head was steady. He pulled up his sleeve and put out the cigarette on his arm. Circular marks decorated his skin like he had chicken pox, but he kind of liked it. It was like the art project you fuck up, but it looks cool enough to keep anyways. 

He began the five block walk to the tower, putting his earbuds in. the busy city was often too much for his senses. He passed a mother and her baby, a runner, a business man on a segway, a kid not much younger than Peter hitting a blunt, a dancer still in leotard and sweats, a hot dog stand worker fighting with a customer. Peter loved new york. He’s had all his firsts here: first kiss, first day of school, first best friend, first broken bone...new york has shaped his life in the best way possible. It’s made him Peter Parker, and it’s made him Spiderman.

The tower loomed above him. The doors opened automatically. He fumbled around his wallet and pockets for a few minutes for his ID badge before realizing he had forgotten it on his desk at home. God, he could kick himself. It wasn’t a tower day, so he didn’t think he would need it. From now on, the badge would be on his body at all times, no matter when or where. Maybe if he could just talk to the receptionist, she’d understand and let him in?

Yeah. good plan.

“H-hey, I’m Peter Parker, I left my badge at home but I really really need to see Mister Stark it’s super important so if you could please just let me in, that would be great,” Peter stuttered to the bored looking man behind the desk, who didn’t respond. “Listen, I’m his intern.”

“Mhm. sure you are,” the secretary said, not looking up from his magazine. 

“Can’t you just look me up in the database or something? Please?” 

The secretary rolled his eyes but typed something into his computer. “What did you say your name was?”

“Peter? Peter Parker?” Peter chewed his lip nervously. He felt the tears coming on, felt the desperation begin to set in again. He really, really can not cry in front of this dude. 

“Sorry, kid. You’re not in here.”

“But-” Peter began, but he realized he had never been put on the employee list officially, just been granted a pass by Mr. Stark with no further explanation. “Is there anything else you can try? I really have to see him-” his voice cracked. Why did he have to be such a fucking crybaby?

“Peter? Honey, shouldn’t you be in school?” pepper. Whatever gods were busy fucking up his life must have taken half a second off. 

“Pepper!” Peter ran to her and threw himself into her arms.

“Oh my god, are you okay? Are you hurt?” She handed her coffee and StarkPad off to her assistant, Janie. “Peter, talk to me.”

“Something happened and i really need to see Mister Stark but i left my badge at home but I really really really need to talk to him please let me see him Ms Potts,” Peter rambled through broken sobs. 

“Okay, he’s in a meeting but I’ll call him down. Just breathe, baby, breathe.” Pepper hugged him close. She was almost as much of a mom to him as Tony was a dad, or another aunt. She had always loved Peter, since the day they met. “Friday, tell Tony to meet us in the penthouse. Tell him it’s an emergency” 

“Of course, boss.”

Pepper took Peter through security, swiping her badge and typing in a code to grant Peter access. She hurried him to the elevator, telling Janie to stay behind. Peter clenched his hands, aching to smoke or cut or do something to make himself stop crying. But he’d be with Tony in a few minutes, and that needed to be enough. 

The doors opened silently, and Pepper led Peter through the familiar penthouse. He often stayed here for a week, either for fun or so he would be supervised while May was on a business trip. Peter loved his time with the Avengers, and he knew that May loved traveling, too. Now with Peter’s extra income (Tony insisted on paying him), she could afford to take time off work and get extra training. Plus, the extra training had earned her a promotion to a surgical ICU nurse. Peter knew she was happy, and that made him happy, too.

“Peter, I need to get back to work, will you be okay alone until Tony gets here?” Pepper asked, a hand still on his shoulder. 

Peter sniffled and nodded. Tony wouldn’t be more than ten minutes. Pepper took her leave, and Peter headed to his room. It was pale blue with crimson accents, a more calm version of his Spiderman colors. He stepped into his bathroom, which, like his room, looked like a small hurricane had swept through. 

“Fri, vent this smoke out, okay?” Peter muttered, retrieving another cigarette from the box in his pocket. Friday didn’t respond, but Peter heard the quiet woosh of the ventilation system being activated. 

He lit the small stick up before puffing on it. By the time heat was starting to reach his fingers, he had stopped crying. It wasn’t going to last, but he didn’t care. Short term fix to a long term problem. 

“Peter, boss is requesting you.”

Peter cursed and put out the cig on his arm before flushing the butt down the toilet. “Tell him I’m coming.”

 

“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Hurt?” Tony almost ran to Peter, checking him over. “Fri, is he okay?”

“Peter Parker has several burns on his arms.”

“Was there a fire?” no sarcasm or sassy remarks, just fear with a little bit of well-concealed panic.

Peter managed to shake his head. 

“Okay, alright, everything is fine, come on, we need to get you to the med room and get your burns checked out, okay kid?” Tony began walking towards the med room (an exam table and a shit ton of supplies, because most of the Avengers didn’t want to go to the med bay for a skinned knee, but man were there a lot of skinned knees), but Peter stood still. 

“There was no fight, Mister Stark.”

“What do you mean there was no fight? You're hurt. There was a-” Tony’s eyes widened. ”oh god.”

Peter didn’t fight when Tony took his arms and pulled up the sleeves. Didn’t fight when his mentor, hands shaking, pulled bandaids out of a drawer and put them over Peter’s burns, didn’t fight when he wrapped his chopped up skin in gauze. When he was done, he pulled Peter into a hug. Peter buried his face in Tony’s chest and sobbed. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Peter looked up in shock. Tony Stark was crying. Actually crying, with tears running down his cheeks.

“Because it’s not about you, it’s about me,” Peter said, his voice choking up. 

Tony takes them to sit on one of the couches. “Kid, this,” he gestures around them. “ _life_ , sucks! High school is hell, Pete, but you’ve gotta make it a two player game. There's no other way to get through. I am here and more than happy to listen, okay?”

Peter felt so fucking stupid. He was scared of how Tony would react. Peter thought he’d be angry, thought he’d tell Aunt May. but...that was all wrong. All Tony wanted to do was help Peter, right? 

So he took a deep breath and told the truth. 

And yes, he was in deep shit for leaving school, but once he told Aunt May and the principal why, it wasn’t so bad. He had a lot of people in his corner, and he just wished he knew that sooner.

**Author's Note:**

> yall i have debilitating depression, anorexia, anxiety, OCD, and so much other shit. i really wish id told the people close to me sooner and hadn't waited until i was half dead. i ruined my relationships and i got myself sent to rehab. it gets better. but only if you're willing to make sacrifices and have uncomfortable conversations.  
> i was also a heavy smoker/vaper and oh man has that come to bite me in the ass. i quit but my lungs are so fucked lmfaoooo. i cant breathe and i pass out all the time. ANYWAY, dont do drugs, dont smoke, dont drink. most importantly tho, never ever snitch. let people sort their problems out on their own time.


End file.
